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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Sam Elliott-Gibbs

How map of Britain will change in next 80 years as towns and cities fall into the sea

Terrifying new maps of the UK in 2100 predict towns and cities will be vanishing into the sea.

Much of London could be gone within 80 years as a harrowing result of rising water levels, while climate change continues to grip the globe, it has been predicted.

A rise of even 2C could see central parts of the capital turned into a water world, experts say.

According to Climate Central's maps, the devastation doesn't stop there with other areas left totally uninhabitable.

The situation is bleak for many along the Humber - including Hull - as the area becomes totally flooded, with a large portion of the Midlands submerged as well.

Maps showing how the UK could look in 2100 have been released (Climate Central)
In just 80 years, much of the East coast of England could be underwater (Climate Central)

If the sea level rise matches current forecasts, then other parts of the country could be in big trouble.

England's South East must also be on red alert with coastal towns in Hampshire, Essex, Sussex and Kent all at serious risk.

Europe doesn't escape with Belgium, Germany, Northern France and half of the Netherlands expected to be underwater by 2100.

London is in serious trouble if the current trajectory of rising global temperatures continues (file photo from Extinction Rebellion protest) (Getty Images)

In America, the picture is painted by parts of New York City submerged.

Climate Central, which provides authoritative information to help the public and policymakers make sound decisions about climate and energy, estimates around 275 million people live in the areas highlighted currently.

Popular holiday destinations and vital roads could be wiped out by floods, scientists warn.

Towns in Hampshire, Essex, Sussex and Kent are all at serious risk (Climate Central)

They warn that a global temperature increase of 3C by the start of the next century would have a "disastrous impact".

Since 1993, sea level growth has been accelerating to an average of 0.12 to 0.14 inches a year, roughly twice as fast as the long-term trend.

According to the organisation, coastal areas are expected to regularly fall below sea level over the next 30 years.

In 2019, a study projected that sea levels will rise between 30cm and 34 cm by 2050. However so far, sea level rises have been much smaller.

Cities around the world could be left rendered uninhabitable (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

After 2,000 years of little change, according to the USA's environmental protection agency, sea levels started growing throughout the 20th Century.

There are three main reasons why the sea rises in hotter temperatures.

Huge ice sheets at the poles melt faster than they form from snowfall loading more water around the earth, ice at high altitude melts at higher points and heat makes the oceans expand.

Experts say causes of global warming by humans include burning fossil fuels - coal, gas and oil - factory farming and increasing livestock production and deforestation.

Floods like this will be a regular problem, scientists have warned (AFP via Getty Images)

Although these will be gradual changes that could take some years before they reach the levels shown on the map, once they are noticeable it will be too late to stop them.

Last year, two Bangor University academics also warned that many of the sandy beaches in North Wales could be lost in the next 80 years.

Oceanographers Dr Yueng Dern Lenn and Dr Mattias Green, who published “30 Second Oceans”, which examines the future of the world’s seas, said hugely expensive sea walls and other mitigations would be the only line of defence as sea levels rise.

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